since the 90 lb. half hog is almost here (5 more days!), i wanted to steer clear from any pork dishes that i might be tempted to make (adobo, pork estofado, etc). i was having a hankering for some wild salmon, but whole foods didn't have any, not even frozen. and the only other wild (read not farm raised) fish that was there was cod, chilean sea bass (don't eat it!), swordfish, and rockfish.

with my wallet about $20 lighter, i was determined to have a healthy dinner. what was on the menu? rockfish, quinoa, and edamame.

so first off, what is quinoa (keen-wa)?

"Quinoa was of great nutritional importance within pre-columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato, and followed in third place by maize. In contemporary times this crop has come to be highly appreciated for its nutritional value, and the United Nations has classified it as a supercrop for its very high protein content (12-18%). Unlike wheat or rice (which are low in lysine), quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete foodstuff. This means it takes less quinoa protein to meet one's needs than wheat protein. It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is also gluten free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered as a possible crop in NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long duration manned spaceflights."

woah nasa!

to make it, just remember the ratio of liquid:quinoa is 2:1. cavin made it last night and i think he used 1 cup organic chicken stock, 1 cup water, and 1 cup quinoa. on its own, the quinoa has a little crunch (not like nestle bar crunch, but kinda like al-dente pasta) and a very mild nutty flavor. if eating it plain, i usually add a little salt and pepper. you can eat it cold or hot, it doesn't matter - you can make a quinoa salad with some diced veggies and some vinagrette, or eat it as you would rice or couscous. to be honest, 1 cup of quinoa was a little bit too much for 2 people. if you are cooking for two and are eating other things, i would only make half quarter of a cup, unless you don't mind having leftovers.

last night though, while cavin started making the quinoa (i think it takes about 20 min or so), i sliced a large onion and caramelized it over low heat. in the time it takes to carmelize the onion the quinoa was done (obviously, i could have caramelized the onion for a lot longer, but honestly, i just didn't have the time on a monday night). and all you have to do is fluff the quinoa, mix in the carmelized onion, season with s&p, and you're done!

and because we need ample freezer space for the pork, we boiled some frozen edamame for another nutritious side.

as for the fish? i cut the rockfish fillet into two pieces, seasoned with s&p, pan seared in some olive oil, and then added some of the water that the edamame cooked in, covered, and let it finish steaming for another 5 min or so.

while the fish was steaming, i mixed up some of the organic miso cavin and i picked up at h-mart this weekend, with the honey we got from our farmer, leigh, and used it as a glaze on top of the fish once it was done. que fantastico!

it was really tasty and easy to prepare. tonight we are going to roast chicken for dinner. stay tuned!

Labels: cooking, seafood